I've enjoyed all of the "Up" movies, and this one certainly satisfied. I'm seven years older, too, and I took away some impressions that were somewhat unexpected.I'd always thought I'd have liked being part of the project but a number of the participants were ambivalent or even hostile to director Michael Apted's efforts. They objected to being under a microscope for viewers to pick apart and comment on, and I suppose I can see their point. On the other hand, having a record of oneself at these seven-year intervals would be like possessing the world's greatest scrapbook.Toward the end of the film we're reminded of the series' guiding inspirational line: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." In many ways the dictum seems true. However, a few of the participants were chirpy and upbeat as kids but seemed rather beaten down by the time they were hitting 50. I've always liked several of the participants more than others, and it's interesting how these preferences survive over time - my favorites are the preppy schoolteacher (a very handsome child as well as man), the homeless politician, and the physics professor. (But I admit I am partial to people who value education.)Whomever is being focused on, "49 Up" makes extremely compelling viewing. Apted is a sensitive and probing investigator and I can't wait to see the next installment in 2012 or so.

I know that it probably seems pretty silly of me to watch the latest installment before watching the previous ones - and I never really planned to do it like that - but I've watched "49 Up", and I really admired it. All twelve of the interviewees provide strong incite into the present state of affairs. True, Michael Apted has interviewed them so many times that it very likely is getting somewhat intrusive, but I think that we do need documentation of what the world is like every couple of years; I mean, just look at what all's happened in the world (or even in the characters' lives) since 1998.Anyway, I'm now very eager to see the other installments. And I intend to watch them chronologically. I definitely recommend this one.

I have recently watched all of the Up series, finishing with 49 Up this evening. While I have enjoyed the series and been fascinated by the people involved, I did agree with John somewhat that it's a bit like Big Brother or some other reality series. Upon talking it over with my husband, however, I find that I have misjudged it. The series does have a lasting value that is not present in entertainment based reality TV shows. What does the series teach us? Tolerance and acceptance of our own fallible judgments. We see these people at 7 and we decide what they will be doing at 21 or 35. Inevitably we're wrong on some important level. What this shows us is that we can never truly know someone, especially someone we don't have an intimate family relationship with, because we never get more than a glimpse into their inner life. At 7 I didn't like Tony. At 21 I didn't like Suzie. The only person I have admired from the beginning is Bruce. Now, at 49, I find them all interesting, individual people and I have a great deal of respect for each of them. They have made their lives something to be proud of. They bring value into the lives of their families and communities, but also to those of us who only see a tiny portion of their lives every 7 years. This isn't reality TV. This is reality- this is life being lived by real people. I hope they will continue to do the program, despite the intrusion. I hope they will understand that they do bring something more into our lives than a couple hours entertainment.

This is not a social science film and it's not exactly an art film either. But neither is it just another version of Big Brother. I personally found this unique project profoundly moving in its originality. Through this film we get a deep sense of the way humans adjust to their circumstances, maintain their personalities and shape their own lives around what they want and can have. I had a sense of the innate decency of most human beings, our capacity for love and survival, the way in which character runs deeper than circumstances, but also the strong effect that circumstances such as the class one is born into can have on us. Most of all I was touched by the unpredictability of life: it would have been hard to say whose marriages would last and whose would not, for example.Having said that, it is unclear to me why so many of the subjects, who volunteer to take part in the filming, seem to fear and oppose it so much. As someone who would have loved the opportunity to revisit my own life at different stages, I have a hard time understanding the reasons for their reluctance and even hostility.